Remove Zeus Trojan virus (Removal Instructions)

Zeus Trojan (or Zbot Trojan)  is a computer virus that attempts to steal confidential information from the compromised computer.
The Trojan itself is primarily distributed through spam campaigns and drive-by downloads, though given its versatility, other vectors may also be utilized. The user may receive an email message purporting to be from organizations such as the FDIC, IRS, MySpace, Facebook, or Microsoft. The message body warns the user of a problem with their financial information, online account, or software and suggests they visit a link provided in the email. The computer is compromised if the user visits the link, if it is not protected.

The Zeus Trojan has primarily been designed to steal confidential information from the computers it compromises. It specifically targets system information, online credentials, and banking details, but can be customized through the toolkit to gather any sort of information. This is done by tailoring configuration files that are compiled into the Trojan installer by the attacker. These can later be updated to target other information, if the attacker so wishes.

Confidential information is gathered through multiple methods. Upon execution the Trojan automatically gathers any Internet Explorer, FTP, or POP3 passwords that are contained within Protected Storage (PStore). However, its most effective method for gathering information is by monitoring Web sites included in the configuration file, sometimes intercepting the legitimate Web pages and inserting extra fields (e.g. adding a date of birth field to a banking Web page that originally only requested a user name and password).
Additionally, Zeus Trojan contacts a command-and-control (C&C) server and makes itself available to perform additional functions. This allows a remote attacker to command the Trojan to download and execute further files, shutdown or reboot the computer, or even delete system files, rendering the computer unusable without reinstalling the operating system.
Symantec has observed the following geographic distribution of this threat:

Zeus Trojan can be detected by the security products as: Trojan-Spy:W32/Zbot [F-Secure],PWS-Zbot [McAfee],Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot [Kaspersky], Win32/Zbot [Microsoft],Infostealer.Monstres [Symantec], Infostealer.Banker.C [Symantec],Trojan.Wsnpoem [Symantec] or Troj/Zbot-LG [Sophos].

Zeus Trojan – Virus Removal Instructions

STEP 1:  Remove Zeus Trojan with Kaspersky TDSSKiller

As part of its self defense mechanism, Zeus Trojan will install a rootkit on the infected computer.In this first step, we will run a system scan with Kaspersky TDSSKiller to remove this rookit.

1. Please download the latest official version of Kaspersky TDSSKiller.
   KASPERSKY TDSSKILLER DOWNLOAD LINK(This link will automatically download Kaspersky TDSSKiller on your computer.)
2. Before you can run Kaspersky TDSSKiller, you first need to rename it so that
   you can get it to run. To do this, right-click on the TDSSKiller.exe icon and select Rename.
   Edit the name of the file from TDSSKiller.exe to iexplore.exe, and then double-click on it to launch.
3. Kaspersky TDSSKiller will now start and display the welcome screen and we will need to click on Change Parameters.
   
4. In the new open window,we will need to enable Detect TDLFS file system, then click on OK.
   
5. Next,we will need to start a scan with Kaspersky, so you’ll need to press the Start Scan button.
   
6. Kaspersky TDSSKiller will now scan your computer for Zeus Trojan infection.
   
7. When the scan has finished it will display a result screen stating whether or not the infection was found on your computer. If it was found it will display a screen similar to the one below.
   
8. To remove the infection simply click on the Continue button and TDSSKiller will attempt to clean the infection.A reboot will be require to completely remove any infection from your system.

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STEP 2: Remove Zeus Trojan malicious files with Malwarebytes Chameleon

Malwarebytes Chameleon is a powerful utility from Malwarebytes, that will stop Zeus Trojan malicious process from running and remove its malicious files from your computer.

1. Download Malwarebytes Chameleon from the below link and extract it to a folder in a convenient location.
   MALWAREBYTES CHAMELEON DOWNLOAD LINK  (This link will open a new web page from where you can download Malwarebytes Chameleon)
2. Make certain that your infected computer is connected to the internet and then open the Malwarebytes Chameleon folder and double-click on svchost.exe.
   
   IF Malwarebytes Chameleon will not open, double-click on the other renamed files until you find one will work, which will be indicated by a black DOS/command prompt window.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to press a key to continue and Chameleon will proceed to download and install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware for you.
   
4. Once it has done this, it will update Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, and you’ll need to click OK when it says that the database was updated successfully.
   
5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now attempt to kill all the malicious processassociated with Zeus Trojan.Please be aware that this process can take up to 10 minutes, so please be patient.
   
6. Next, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will automatically open and perform a Quick scan for Zeus Trojan malicious files as shown below.
   
7. Upon completion of the scan, click on Show Result
   
8. You will now be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected.
   Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked),then click on the Remove Selected button.
   
9. After your computer restarts, open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform a Full System scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

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STEP 3 : Remove the malicious registry keys added by the Zeus Trojan

Zeus Trojan has added some malicious registry keys to your Windows installation,to remove them we will need to perform a scan with RogueKiller.

1. Please download the latest official version of RogueKiller.
   ROGUEKILLER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download RogueKiller on your computer)
2. Double click on RogueKiller.exe to start this utility and then wait for the Prescan to complete.This should take only a few seconds and then you can click the Start button to perform a system scan.
   
3. After the scan has completed, press the Delete button to remove any malicious registry keys.
   

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STEP 4: Run a system scan with HitmanPro

1. Download the latest official version of HitmanPro from the below link.
   HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK(This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download HitmanPro)
2. Double click on the previously downloaded fileto start the HitmanPro installation.
   
   IF you are experiencing problems while trying to starting HitmanPro, you can use the “Force Breach” mode.To start this program in Force Breach mode, hold down the left CTRL-key when you start HitmanPro and all non-essential processes are terminated, including the malware process. (How to start HitmanPro in Force Breach mode – Video)
3. Click on Next to install HitmanPro on your system.
   
4. The setup screen is displayed, from which you can decide whether you wish to install HitmanPro on your machine or just perform a one-time scan, select a option then click onNext to start a system scan.
   
5. HitmanPro will start scanning your system for malicious files as seen in the image below.
   
6. Once the scan is complete,you’ll see a screen which will display all the malicious files that the program has found.Click on Next to remove this malicious files.
   
7. Click Activate free license to start the free 30 days trial and remove the malicious files.
   
8. HitmanPro will now start removing the infected objects.If this program will ask you to restart your computer,please allow this request.

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STEP 5: Double check for any left over infections on your computer

If want to make another check for any left over malicious files,you can run a scan with the following tools:

STEP A: Run a scan with Eset Online Scanner.

1. Download ESET Online Scanner utility.
   ESET Online Scanner Download Link (This link will automatically download ESET Online Scanner on your computer.)
2. Double click on the Eset installer program (esetsmartinstaller_enu.exe).
3. Check Yes, I accept the Terms of Use
4. Click the Start button.
5. Check Scan archives
6. Push the Start button.
7. ESET will then download updates for itself, install itself, and begin scanning your computer. Please be patient as this can take some time.
8. When the scan completes, push Finish

STEP B: Run a scan with Emsisoft Emergency Kit.

1. Please download the latest official version of Emsisoft Emergency Kit.
   EMSISOFT EMERGENCY KIT DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a download page in a new window from where you can download Emsisoft Emergency Kit)
2. After the download process will finish , you’ll need to unpack EmsisoftEmergencyKit.zipand then double click on EmergencyKitScanner.bat
3. A pop-up will prompt you to update Emsisoft Emergency Kit , please click the “Yes” button.After the Update process has completed , put the mouse cursor over the “Menu” tab on the left and click-on “Scan PC“.
4. Select “Smart scan” and click-on the below “SCAN” button.When the scan will be completed , you will be presented with a screen showing you the malware infections that Emsisoft Emergency Kit has detected.Make sure that everything is Checked (ticked) and click on the ‘Quarantine selected objects‘ button.

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Next,we will remove the tools that we’ve used in our malware removal process.
Kaspersky TDSSKiller and RogueKiller can be removed by deleting the utilities.
We strongly recommend that you keep Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and HitmanPro installed on your machine and run regular scans with this tools.If you however,wish to remove them,you can go into the Add or Remove programs and uninstall this two on-demand scanners.
Because this trojan is designed to steal your personal information, we recommend that you change your passwords for your online accounts and if you have used your credit card(s) while Zeus Trojan was on your computer, contact the bank and let them know that you might be be victim of a phishing attack.

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